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The Naked Now
In the Polywater intoxication ' |image= |series= |production=40271-103 |producer(s)= |story=D.C. Fontana (Credited as J. Michael Bingham) and John D.F. Black. |script=D.C. Fontana (Credited as J. Michael Bingham) |director=Paul Lynch |imdbref=tt0708810 |guests=Brooke Bundy as Sarah MacDougal, Benjamin W.S. Lum as Jim Shimoda, David Renan as Conn, Michael Rider as Transporter Chief, Skip Stellrecht as Engineering crewman and Kenny Koch as Kissing crewman |previous_production=Encounter at Farpoint |next_production=Code of Honor |episode=TNG A03 |airdate=3 October 1987 |previous_release=Encounter at Farpoint |next_release=Code of Honor |story_date(s)=Stardates 41209.2-41209.3 |previous_story=Encounter at Farpoint |next_story=Code of Honor }} Summary The Enterprise is sent to investigate the goings-on aboard the U.S.S. Tsiolkovsky, a research vessel monitoring the collapse of a red-orange star. An away party finds the entire crew of the Tsiolkovsky dead, littered among what appears to be the remains of a giant party. Beaming back aboard the Enterprise, LaForge unwittingly carries with him a virus - the same one that did in the other ship - that transmits itself through water and makes its victims as if they were drunk. The virus quickly spreads throughout the ship, and although Riker discovers that the virus had popped up on the Enterprise NCC-1701, the cure reported for said virus is ineffective. Meanwhile the entire crew is falling victim, affecting even Data. Hijinks ensue. Soon things take a definite dangerous turn as Wesley Crusher takes over the ship, astonishing everyone by converting a tractor beam into a repulsor beam, previously thought impossible. Wesley, however, refuses to move the ship, even as a large chunk of the ex-star is hurtling towards them. Experimenting with variations on McCoy's treatment eventually leads Crusher to a cure, which she begins administering throughout the ship. Once cured, Data and Chief Engineer MacDougal managed to regain control of the ship. Data uses his android speed and dexterity to both repair damaged systems and use Wesley's repulsor beam idea on the ship's own tractor beam, helping to free the ship from the danger posed by the star chunk. Errors and Explanations. Plot Oversights # The starship yard's use of the Cyrillic alphabet. It could have been intended as a way of honouring Tsiolkovsky. # The chief engineer and her assistant following the order to leave their posts without contacting Picard for confirmation. The engineers must expect Picard to know what he’s doing – (and if they did try to contact Picard, Wes may have programmed the computer to route all calls intended for Picard to a voice simulator). # Picard sending Yar to sickbay instead of confining her to quarters. Picard could have ordered Crusher to keep those infected in one place to ease monitoring and treatment. # Riker not cutting through the curved window nor the deck plates. Riker must be reluctant to fire a phaser so close to the warp core (I certainly would be!), especially due to the amount of equipment in the floors and ceilings, such as the gravity generators. # Unexplained change of position for the Enterprise, giving them fifteen minutes to respond when the star collapses. Enterprise could have moved back when we weren’t looking. # Crusher and Picard taking longer to recover than Geordi. This could be an indication that recovery time is directly related to the person’s age. # Data giving his word that he would not reveal what happened between him and Yar. Data’s facial expression after Yar says 'It never happened' could have indicated compliance with Yar’s request. # Transmission of an alchol type substance by touch. The molecules could have been absorbed through the pores of the skin. Equipment Oddities # Non use of environment suits by the initial away team. There may have been nothing on the original scan to indicate contamination. # The big chain of water molecules in the records not matching anything in the scans. The new chain of water molecules must be more similar to normal water, and thus sufficiently different from the one in the records. # The monitor over La Forge’s bed in Sickbay registering his vital signs after he walks out. Life sign monitors might be receiving input from sensors in other parts of the ship. # The uniformed parrot image shown at the start of Data’s first scan of the records. This could be a futuristic wallpaper or screensaver. # The use of clicks instead of boops when ‘keys’ are pressed. The clicks could be part of an experimental user interface. # Crusher using physical restraint belts to hold La Forge in place. The sick bay restraint field is either offline or was not installed at this point. # No sign of the tractor beam holding the Tsiolkovsky on the main viewer image. The sensor system may be programmed not to show tractor beams on certain view screens. # Surprise at Wesley creating a reverse flow tractor beam. Reversible tractor beams may have fallen out of use. Continuity and Production Problems # Picard stating that Enterprise is travelling at Warp 7, while subsequent shots show it travelling at impulse. Picard could have ordered a reduction in speed to allow navigation recalibration. # La Forge’s pillows disappearing before he leaves Sickbay. He could have thrown the pillows away before he left Sick bay. # Image of the movie era Enterprise attached to the records, instead of the correct Original Series version. The wrong image must have been attached to the file by someone at Memory Alpha by mistake. # The cloth in Yar’s hands appearing and disappearing between shots. Yar could be using the cloth to practice her slight of hand – very handy for concealing a small weapon. Ex Astris Scientia # When Data is asked to go to engineering to replace the control chips, Riker holds his arm to guide him to engineering from the Bridge, (due to his quasi-inebriation). For some reason they head towards the Battle Bridge turbolift. This is an express turbolift, with access to a standard turbolift station on Deck 8. Nit Central # Resurrected Nits on Sunday, May 09, 1999 - 6:56 am: By Matthias Roth on Monday, November 2, 1998 - 07:14 pm: Why didn't they use the Tsiolkovsky to tug the Enterprise out of danger ? The technical systems of the ship were ok, remote control was probably possible. Didn't the Tsiolkovsky have a tractor beam? It may not have been powerful enough to move the Enterprise, which is a much larger vessel.Fandom user Mcb359 on 30 July 2018 - 18:23 Unlikely, as in “Emissary”, the USS Rio Grande, a Danube-class runabout, was able to tractor a Cardassian Galor-class warship through the wormhole with no apparent difficulty, and the size/power difference there was more than between the Enterprise and Tsiolkovsky. Seniram 13:49, July 31, 2018 (UTC) Assuming of course that the Tsilkovsky's tractor beam emitter was a) online and b) operating at full capacity! # Keith Alan Morgan on Saturday, April 17, 1999 - 01:51 pm:''Why does Crusher have such a hard time isolating the compound? She knows what a similar compound looks like, so wouldn't the new compound look similar? '''It had probably mutated too much.' # Don't you think it amazing that with all of the accidental 'infections,' that none of the affected people touched Worf? (Lucky for them.) Charles Cabe (Ccabe) on Saturday, April 17, 1999 - 03:17 pm: 1. Who would want to? (Except Dax.) 2. Klingons may be immune to the virus. 3. I might take a long time for Worf to build up enough "Alcohol" to become infected. Klingons have a high tolerance for alcohol. # Ghel on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 2:40 pm: It was mentioned early on by Picard that even if the star exploded, they could escape at 1/3 or 2/3 impulse. When they were running out of time, nobody thought of separating the saucer section and towing the engineering section. Don't be stupid Ghel! 1) Seperation would take too long. 2) Any tractor beam emmiter in the saucer section would not be powerful enough to tow the engineering section. # Probably mentioned somewhere before, but nobody thought of getting past Wesley's repulser beam with a transporter. The beam may have blocked any incoming transporter signal. # Wesley walks around the ship with a tractor/repulser beam emitter containing it's own power source (mentioned to Geordie in Wesley's quarters), yet later, the "power" to the device is cut by fiddling inside of a wall in main engineering. Brian Fitzgerald on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 9:48 pm: He could have had some kind of battery when he was showing it to people, but wanted something more permanent because he was going to be running it for hours when he took over engineering. # Mark Bowman on Friday, July 27, 2001 - 6:57 am: Exactly how could the tractor beam block people from the engineering station, since the unit wasn't bolted down to anything? With enough force, I'm sure Riker could've pushed into the beam, and cause the unit to fall to the floor. The beam was probably strong enough to deflect anyone who tried to push through it. Notes Category:Episodes Category:The Next Generation